by David Paul
The detective selects a silenced 9mm Glock with five spare magazines and also grabs a slew of extra ammo for the sub-machinegun Detangelo also takes a few hand grenades, the flash bangs, and a wicked looking boot knife. He plans on using his .38 snub-nosed, revolver as a back up gun. Rawley is fully outfitted with a combination shoulder harness rig for Detangelo. This setup will enable the detective to carry the weapon hanging on a harness and the Glock pistol in a cross-draw layout, under the shoulder holster. Spare magazines for the machine pistol fit perfectly inside compartments on the harness.
Within five minutes, Detangelo looks the part. Rawley briefed Detangelo on how to work the night vision gear. The cop looks like a SWAT team member. Rawley could probably outfit an army of fifty men with all of his weaponry. David takes nothing from Rawley, except for a large silver handled dagger that looks like it has been around for centuries. Looking like a member of the SWAT team, Rawley is prepared for battle. In addition to all of this state of the art technology, he also carries a variety of edged weapons.
“You look pretty ready,” David said. David jokes with him to lighten up the mood. Rawley and David are ready and willing, but Detangelo is a bit rattled. He looks the part, but he is not mentally prepared for this encounter.
“What’s wrong, Jack?” The vampire asked.
“What’s wrong? I am about to step foot into a meat grinder, David.” He has fear in his voice. “I need a fucking drink,” the cop said. The sickness inside of the detective speaks. “That’s what I need.”
“I’ll pour you two shots, Jack.” Rawley said.
Rawley goes into his cupboard for a new bottle of Canadian Club Whiskey. Rawley pours a tall double-shot of whiskey into an oversize shot glass. He also pours a shot of an unknown substance into another shot glass of the same size. The bottle it came from looks very old. The detective downs the shot of whiskey with ease and looks at the black tar-like substance in the other shot glass.
“What is this?”
“Just drink it, Jack,” Rawley said. He slides it over to the detective. “It is liquid courage. The Aztec’s used to drink this for courage and prowess in battle.”
“What is in this?” Detangelo asked. Rawley is laughing slightly.
“You really don’t want to know,” David said. Detangelo has a skeptical look on his face, but figures that he doesn’t have much to lose by trying the concoction.
“You are probably right,” the detective said. The detective reluctantly downs the murky drink. His face alone alerts the team of its taste. Detangelo coughs like he drank straight moonshine. Rawley is indifferent to Detangelo’s issues, and he gets back to business.
“Normally,” Rawley said, “I would have staked out our intended targets and had an airtight game plan for our offensive. Tonight, we are going to have to wing it a bit.”
“Jack had a good point about using distance to our advantage,” the vampire chimed in. “Eliminating some stragglers would be beneficial.”
“We could set up at a distance,” Rawley said, “and I could pick off a few with the sniper rifle. No one would hear a sound. We could then gradually work our way into the rest of the participants in the ceremony. Lastly, we will corner Carver.” Rawley’s plan sounded as legitimate as any other battle plan could have on such short notice.
“That will be easier said then done,” the detective said.
“I can carpet bomb the entire area with a high explosive rocket launcher and call it a night. That would make things easier too,” Rawley said. Rawley doesn’t like the detective’s negativity. The warrior likes to go into battle envisioning victory.
“I need Carver alive,” the vampire insisted. “I think that we will stick to plan A.”
“I just don’t want to kill innocents,” Detangelo said.
“None of his followers are innocent,” Rawley said. “They are all accomplices to murder and God knows what else.”
“I know,” Jack said. “You are right, but I am not like you. I’ve only used my pistol once in the line of duty, and someone is dead because of it.” Detangelo opened up about a piece of his past history as a policeman.
“Jack, that is who we are,” Rawley said. The Knight of the White Light gets a bit philosophical with the policeman. “We are doing God’s work using the Devil’s machinery. We are doing a divine duty, and the Lord will bless us.”
“I don’t know.”
“There is no malice in our hearts, detective. We were put here tonight for a reason,” Rawley said, “and the Lord is with us.” Rawley blesses Detangelo. The detective still isn’t totally clear on who and what Rawley is.
“Are you a hitman or a priest?” The detective asked. The detective gets a bit testy.
“Jack,” Rawley said. “You need to look deep into your soul for single-minded purpose and brutal simplicity. This is good versus evil. The evil we are facing is absolute evil. We must walk the night to bring forth the light. We will do our duty, and we will prevail.”
“Nice pep talk,” Detangelo said, “but I’m still scared shitless, and I don’t want to waste innocents.”
Rawley remains silent. It is obvious that he is upset slightly and bothered by the comment. Xavier is trying to motivate the detective, and the detective will not remain positive. Seconds later, Jack starts to get an undefined rush of energy. His heart rate climbs high, and then plateaus at a comfortable, yet intense level.
“I feel bizarre,” Jack said.
“What do you mean?” David asked. “It must be what Rawley gave you.”
“Just breathe slowly,” Rawley said, “and you will feel reborn.” Rawley walks the cop through his strange sensations. Jack breathes slowly in and out.
“I’m starting to feel really good,” Jack said. With each exhale, the detective releases bad energy, and he feels a sense of calmness. David recognized the concoction that Rawley gave to Jack. The vampire had used a similar concoction of the same rare plant extract. Capello had given him a similar potion for his travels into the Black Forest.
“We should really get moving because it is getting late,” the vampire said. “Chances are, the ceremony will not begin until midnight.”
“I’ll drive,” Rawley said. He leads the team to his garage.
In the garage, they are greeted by a black four-wheel drive Suburban that looks like a wrecking machine. The murdered-out Suburban is outfitted with an off-road suspension and monster-sized tires that could easily eat up the most rugged terrain. An ominous ram bar reinforced with steel gusseting and skid-plates protects the front end. The warrior loads up all of the gear into the back, and the team gets inside. Even inside the truck, it is fairly obvious that it is heavily modified. The doors seem to weigh hundreds of pounds, which is a sure sign of bulletproofing.
“Nice ride, Rawley.” The vampire is appreciative of fine automobiles.
“Thanks,” he said. “I only use this for nights like tonight. You would never know that I had over 600 horsepower in this beast.” Rawley starts up the truck and it purrs like a kitten. The occupants can feel the power of the truck vibrating through the floorboards.
The slightest hint of whining from the engine bay gives away that he’s got a supercharger installed on the truck. A glowing red, aircraft switch in the center of the console serves as the nitrous-oxide arming button. The truck has it all. Rawley actually went to great lengths to keep the Suburban relatively quite for stealth reasons. He actually rigged up silenced mufflers on the dual exhaust. The no-nonsense truck is equipped with a full roll cage, fire extinguishers, and aluminum diamond-plate flooring. The axles are armor-plated and gusseted for strength. The Suburban is built better than most military vehicles. Rawley buckles up his racing harness-style seat-belt, and all of the occupants follow suit.
“Head out towards Foster,” David said. “I need to find the woods that were in my dream.”
The garage doors opens, and the truck crawls down the driveway with a deep low grunt. Detangelo hangs onto the above-head grab handle
for dear life as he feels the impressive torque of the motor.
“Are you sure that you will be able to find the location?” The detective asked. “Foster is all woods.”
“I’ll find it,” David said. He assured the team of his confidence. “I will be able to feel my son’s presence.”
While driving, there is a strange scene going on inside the truck. Rawley is listening to powerful classical music to prepare himself for battle. David prefers classical music to sleep to and is secretly begging for something with more of an edge. Megadeth would have suited the vampire’s mindset quite better. Detangelo is in the rear passenger seat talking to himself in an effort to stay focused.
The unlikely trio blast down the highway while Mozart is screaming through the truck’s sound system. Conversation has ceased. The men are lost inside their own minds. In unusual fashion, there is no traffic at all. After a short while, Rawley exits the throughway, and they cross the border into the town of Foster. Rawley lowers the music. They have their game faces on, and the time for battle is drawing near.
There is an unspoken tension inside the vehicle with the witching hour looming. David can sense that he is relatively close to what he saw in his dream, and he can feel Devin. A dirt road with a battered painted sign leads the way towards Devlin Farms. The vampire laughs at the irony. David suspects that this property may be owned by some of the cultists. There are no streetlights. All of the trees leading down the dirt path have a distressed look about them. This land feels evil. It seems to generate an aura of pure unmistakable evil that even Detangelo can feel.
A thought occurs to the vampire. The other murder victims were found easily…too easily, and that further proves Capello’s theory. Devin and Lucifer deliberately wanted David to become interested in this case. If the rituals were performed in these parts, the bodies would have never been found. Capello was most likely correct.
“Continue down this dirt path,” David said. Rawley obliges him without a verbal response. They delve deeper into the darkness. A massive cornfield borders the road all the way down with forest and trees behind it. David doesn’t remember a cornfield in his dream, but he definitely senses Devin’s presence near by. “I feel like we are getting close, so maybe we should ditch the truck and get out on foot.”
Rawley finds a nice opening inside the cornrows and parks the massive Suburban deep in the cornfield, making it practically invisible to the human eye at ground level. The team dismounts from the vehicle and gathers all of their gear. No one speaks as they prepare themselves. After everyone seems ready, the vampire walks away. They follow David slowly through the maze-like corn. The cornfield is reminding the detective of Children of the Corn. The cop is not happy.
“Have your night vision goggles ready, just in case,” Rawley said to Detangelo. The detective nods. The cop fumbles with the gear briefly, but manages to get it online and working.
“Let’s synch-up the radios and test them quickly,” Rawley suggested. He turns on the communication device. “Is everyone hearing me?”
“Everything sounds crisp,” Detangelo said. The detective confirmed that his radio is functioning fine, and David nods with his approval.
They hump through the cornfield at a medium pace in an effort to maintain their stealth. The ground is moist, and this offers them some help.
“We are getting close,” David said. The vampire’s voice rings in their headsets.
The vampire seems to step lightly and doesn’t make a sound. When he moves, it appears as if he almost floats above the ground. David maneuvers with the utmost fluidity and grace. Detangelo notices this as he struggles to do the same and fails. Rawley moves like a professional, and he watches the rear of the party.
David tells the others to hold as he hears some sound off in the distance. He investigates. The vampire hears footprints plodding along. The team has walked roughly two miles into the cornfield and now into the woods. Detangelo is surprised that he is not winded from the hike. Even with a full moon, barely any light gets through the dense trees. A mossy, yet vile smell haunts these woods. Something wicked is here. The trees clear slightly, and there is a ridge below devoid of vegetation. David carefully takes cover behind an old, thick oak tree.
Below the ridge, at least a hundred minions are working to get the ceremony online for what the team thinks is a midnight black mass. The area below the ridge is totally cleared out, and a massive marble altar has been brought in from somewhere. This ritual seems so much more elaborate then the ones before. The altar sits atop red velvet carpeting, and rows of stone kneelers are placed in a concentric half-circle for the worshipers to partake in the ceremony. The scene is impressive.
Strange ideograms and symbols similar to what David saw from the wicked Zurelda are painted onto the red velvet flooring. This leads David to believe that her true alignment was with Lucifer all along when she was alive. This correlates the whole Devin situation and makes Zurelda responsible for the birth of an antichrist. Maybe Zurelda knew all along of the prophecy and simply helped it along. The truth will always be unknown because she is dead. The prophecy played like a demonic Rubik’s Cube. Every move was connected.
The followers are preparing for the ceremony, and not everything is in place yet. The team observes the spectacle. A perfect canal-like ridge leads down into clearing that would allow the team to be unseen while traveling to the bottom. Rawley takes lead over the detective, and the cop follows him. Rawley and Detangelo slowly make there way to where David is.
“Look at this,” Rawley whispered into his communication device. “I can set up shop with the sniper rifle right here, and I have at least a 270-degree view of the land layout…not too bad at all.” The team hears his words in stereo because they are standing so close together.
“Perfect,” the vampire said.
“Strategically,” Rawley said, “we really can’t complain about the terrain, but there are roughly eighty more people than we had planned on.”
“This is a no-win situation,” Detangelo said.
“Jack,” David said, “I’ve killed an entire platoon of armed German soldiers by myself. The numbers do not scare me.” The vampire tries to put a positive spin on their situation.
“David,” the cop said, “you are a fucking vampire, and I am a divorced, middle-aged alcoholic with hypertension.” Rawley laughs.
“Here is your chance at redemption.” The vampire reinforces the importance of this night. “Jack,” David said, “you have the opportunity to help save the world tonight.” Detangelo silently contemplates what David has said to him.
“By the way,” Rawley blurted out, “I have dealt with Devin and his followers before.” Rawley has been around for quite some time and has performed countless exorcisms. The legion of demons that fell under Devin’s command has been possessing people for years. “We have a little bit of history together, but I never knew he was of your blood.”
“He was born out of a curse and from my seed.” The vampire is in shame.
“His mother’s womb was poisoned to bear sickly fruit,” David said.
“He was born of your seed, and he shall fall by your hand as well,” Rawley said.
“He shall fall by my hand,” the vampire assured Rawley.
“Are you sure?” Rawley asked. “Will your mind be pure when the Devil tempts you and twists your wits?”
“He shall fall by my hand,” the vampire said firmly.
“David,” Rawley said, “I value our alliance, and I am a man of my word, but I will honor my duty.”
In so many words, Rawley tells David that he will destroy him if he turns to the dark side. David doesn’t like what Rawley said, but he respects it. The vampire admires men of conviction, loyalty, and honor.
“I understand you, Xavier,” David said, “but don’t jump the gun and try anything prematurely, tough guy.” The vampire joked to make light of an intense situation.
Rawley takes the joke in good nature and is relieved that David unders
tands him. “As long as we understand each other,” Rawley said.
“And if either of you get me fucked up, I’ll kill both of you.” the detective said.
For a brief moment, they all enjoy a quick laugh that loosens them up. They savor the moment because each one of them knows that some heads are going to roll in the short future. They wait for the laborers to finish their construction. After an hour or so, the sacrificial grounds are complete. The devil worshipers seemed to be bringing things from the woods down to the sacrificial ground. The entire crowd is dressed in black robes. The followers light a huge raging bonfire on the outskirts of the clearing with logs and diesel fuel.
A group of men lead a large pig close to the fire. A large metal choker-chain restrains the beast. Several others carry a giant cast iron spit to the blaze. One tall man disembowels the pig with a crescent sword while the animal is still alive. The pig squeals violently, and runs around gushing precious blood like a faucet all over the crowd. David can smell the blood from where he is standing. The pathetic squeals echo into the night and die down in the dense trees. It falls dead, and some of the others immediately drive a massive skewer through its freshly killed body. They mount the spit in the fire pit and hoist the body onto it by the large skewer. The heathens are roasting the pig to celebrate this night.
The crowd congregates on the stone kneelers that look almost like coffee tables. Behind the altar are stone basins filled with firewood. Guardsmen light two torches, and the fires roar instantly. David can smell the kerosene used on the torches. The dirty oil smell adds heaviness to the already dense forest air. A slight chill is on the wind. A hooded figure begins to speak from behind the ornate altar. The crowd is silent, and they await his words.
It is Carver.
“Welcome my children,” Carver said. “We have gathered here on this moonlit night to bring forth darkness to swallow the light.”
Two followers carry the kidnapped Kaye Miller to the altar. A simple, yet flowing gown of white lace and silk adorns her body, and she is made up to look beautiful. She is in a trance brought on by the demonroot and is lying on the altar motionless, yet awake. Two men disrobe her and bear her body for the crowd. The men touch her breasts and display them for the audience. The crowd is full of “oohs” and “ahhs.” Kaye is helpless.
