The Second Coming

by J. Fritschi

  Kate stared at the orange and yellow flame of the candle detached from her body. It was as if she wasn’t there anymore.

  “You have served your purpose,” the Sterling Killer told her in a satisfied tone. “You are the one I have been searching for. Your boyfriend will soon be here and you and he can watch as I change the prophecy foretold in the Satanic Codex.”

  chapter 74

  ROCKS AND TWIGS snapped and popped under the tires of Mike’s car as he made his way up the dirt and gravel road, careful not to rev the engine of his car so much that it would alert the Sterling Killer of their arrival. The car meandered through the shadows of the overhanging green tress and underbrush, rumbling quietly, until they reached the apex of the road. On the side of the hill, dangling precariously from a tilting post was an old rusted sign for the Oakland Children’s Orphanage. Mike pulled the car to a stop and left the engine softly grumbling as he scanned the surrounding forest.

  “Is that Kate’s car?” Big Pete asked alarmingly as he pointed in the direction of the dirt turnout. Kate’s car was parked haphazardly with both the driver and passenger doors left open.

  “Mother Fucker,” Mike said under his breath as he turned his steering wheel and pulled in, parking behind her car.

  “You wait in the car,” Mike told Father John sternly as he glared at him in the rearview mirror. Mike glanced at Big Pete nervously and then nodded at him with a grimace as both men cautiously opened their doors and got out in unison with their guns drawn.

  The engine of Kate’s car was quietly idling as Mike and Big Pete approached on either side of the vehicle with their pistols held out in front of them. They peered into the car to make sure it was clear. Mike leaned into the front of the car, turned off the engine and removed the key from the ignition. As he stood up and examined the surrounding area, Mike saw Kate’s high heels strewn in the dirt. His heart sank heavily. She must have struggled to escape.

  “It looks like they left in a hurry,” Big Pete said concerned. “Maybe she was able to escape?”

  Mike grit his teeth as he examined the surrounding area for foot prints or signs of struggle. “It looks like she lost her heels when she tried to run,” he said reservedly. “The question is, was she able to get away from him or did he catch her?”

  “I don’t think he caught her right away or the car wouldn’t be parked here with the doors open and idling like it was,” Big Pete deduced as he motioned with a nod of his head toward the dense bushes and trees that bordered the turnout. “She must have taken off for the woods and he probably gave chase.”

  Mike remembered her text message. Help me Oakland orphanage sterling killer. “My guess is that she was able to get out of the car and make a run for the woods,” he hypothesized as he holstered his gun and strode back to his car looking at Big Pete with wide eyes. “He took off after her and either she got away and texted us from where she is hiding at the orphanage or he caught her and used her phone to send us the text to bait us to the orphanage. Either way, she’s got to be at the orphanage.”

  Both men climbed into the car and Mike put the stick shift into gear and cautiously pulled onto the dirt and gravel road. When they reached the top of the hill that led to the orphanage, Mike turned the key off and the engine went ominously silent. He took his foot off the brake and the car began to crunch its way down the sloping decline slowly at first, but picking up speed as it neared the bend. As they came around the turn, there in the clearing, stood the old brick building with its crumbling, high pitched roof and dormer windows. Mike coasted to a stop in the circular driveway in front of the building and stared out the windshield at the broken windows and over grown vines that engulfed the building. It was surrounded by a chain link fence and yellow tape with the words DEMOLITION and CAUTION printed all over it.

  “How do you want to handle this?” Big Pete whispered intently as he removed his gun from his holster, ejected the clip from the handle and examined the rounds in it before carefully pushing it back in.

  “I’ll go in the front,” Mike said contemplatively. “You go around back and wait for my signal or for me to flush him out.” Mike carefully pulled back on the chamber of his pistol and loaded a round. “He knows we are coming, but he doesn’t know we are here. Maybe we can surprise him and catch him off guard.”

  “What would you like me to do Detective?” Father John asked as he leaned forward between the driver and passenger seats.

  “You’re coming with me Father,” Mike told him in no uncertain terms. “But don’t do anything crazy. I don’t need you getting killed before we save Kate.”

  “I appreciate you being so concerned with my well being,” he replied sarcastically.

  Mike ignored his comment. He was hyper-focused on the task at hand. He glanced at Big Pete and nodded as they quietly opened their car doors in unison and hopped out of their seats. Father John climbed out from the passenger side of the backseat and Mike and Big Pete instinctively pushed their doors shut with a quiet click. All three men jogged over to the break in the fence that was held together by a chain and padlock. Big Pete provided cover as Mike pulled on the padlock in the off chance that it was unlocked. It didn’t budge.

  Mike signaled for Big Pete to go over the fence first as he provided cover. Big Pete holstered his pistol and began scaling the fence with a great degree of difficulty, his large body causing the wobbly fence to teeter and clink under his weight. He struggled to pull himself over the top as he swung one leg over at a time and then dropped down with a thump on the cracked concrete.

  Mike motioned for Father John to go over the fence next and he did so gracefully as Big Pete helped him down on the other side and then removed his pistol to provide cover for Mike.

  Mike stuck his gun in the small of his back and with one swift motion, leaped up, grabbed the top of the fence and with the grace of a gymnast, swung his entire body over, landing stealthily on the uneven cement next to Big Pete and Father John. Removing his pistol from his back, Mike scanned the surroundings and pointed his fingers at his eyes and then motioned to Big Pete to go towards the back door of the church as he provided cover.

  Big Pete took off in a jogging crouch until he reached the side of the church by the back door and stopped with his back against the wall and his pistol held upright beneath a still intact stained glass window of Jesus with outreaching hands.

  Mike held his shiny .45 straight out in front of him, pointed at the ground military style as he shielded Father John with his body. They scurried to the large wood plank doors in the front of the church and stopped with their backs resting against the far door. Mike’s heart was racing with adrenaline and his senses were on high alert as he checked his gun one more time and then inspected Father John’s face for signs of whether or not he was holding up. Father John glared back at Mike with an unblinking determination in his dilated eyes as Mike held his hand up for Father John to stop and then pointed to the ground to wait here. Father John nodded.

  The wind was sweeping leaves across the ground as Mike took a deep breath and exhaled. He had the same sickening feeling of terror in his gut as he used to get when he went door to door searching for insurgents in Fallujah. Every time he kicked a door in, he hoped that it wouldn’t be his last, but now his own safety was the least of his concerns. His main concern was getting Kate out alive.

  chapter 75

  AS HE HELD his gun pointed in the air with his left hand, he reached over with his right hand and turned the large black knob. To his surprise and relief, the door was unlocked and it creaked as he slowly eased it open just enough to allow his body to slip into the shadows of the dark sanctuary. Once inside, he leaned into the corner by the door and made himself as small as possible as his heart pounded and his eyes adjusted. Candles flickered ominously in the shadows.

  Holding his firearm straight out with his right arm which he supported with his left hand, he crept down the aisle, scanning the shadows of the perimeter anxiously for any movement.

>   Where the hell was Kate? She must be hiding unless the Sterling Killer already found her. Maybe it was the Sterling Killer who sent the text. Mike wanted to call out to her, but he was afraid that he would alert the Sterling Killer of his presence. He weighed his options as he searched the interior of the broken down old sanctuary over the barrel of his gun and decided he had to take the risk.

  “Kate,” he said with an urgent, hushed whisper as he did a 360 degree turn with his gun held firmly with both hands. “Kate...where are you?”

  As he slowly and deliberately scanned the sanctuary’s perimeter, he concentrated for any sign of Kate or the Sterling Killer. Suddenly he saw a dark silhouette appear slowly out of the shadows from behind the altar. He aimed the barrel of his gun at the middle of the shadow and readied to fire.

  “It’s about time you got here Detective,” the Sterling Killer said menacingly. “We were beginning to lose faith in you.”

  As the shadow got closer, Mike was able to distinguish that the Sterling Killer was standing behind Kate, who was wrapped in a burgundy garment, holding a gun to her head. The barrel of the pistol gleamed in the candles flickering light. Mike tried to get a good line of vision on the Sterling Killer’s head, but he could only get a glimpse of him, which was not worth the risk of taking. He kept his barrel trained on the Sterling Killer’s head just in case he was forced to take a shot.

  “Let her go and I’ll bring you your brother,” Mike commanded forcefully as he cautiously stepped down the aisle, trying to get a better a shot.

  “Not so fast Detective,” The Sterling Killer admonished him. “You know it doesn’t work like that. I need to see my brother before I will let her go.”

  Mike knew he wasn’t in a position to negotiate so he yelled for Father John to enter the church. The door creaked open and a ray of blue light penetrated the sanctuary’s darkness as Father John entered and walked down the aisle until he was standing behind Mike.

  “The prodigal son returns,” the Sterling Killer hissed contemptuously.

  “Let her go and you and I will settle this the way it is supposed to be settled,” Father John urged him.

  “There will be plenty of time for that my brother,” he replied begrudgingly. “First I want to know where your partner is Detective.”

  “He is my insurance,” Mike explained as he focused the barrel of the gun at the Sterling Killer’s head and used his body to shield Father John. “If Kate and I don’t walk out of here, no one comes out alive.”

  “You’re such a cowboy Detective,” the Sterling Killer mocked him and then turned serious. “This is how it’s going to work. You throw your gun on the floor and send my brother over and I will send your girlfriend over.”

  “No can do,” Mike said with a tilt of his head. “Not until I know Kate is safe. You put your gun down and I’ll put my gun down.”

  “You forget that I hold the trump card Detective,” the Sterling Killer advised him as he pushed the barrel of the gun against Kate’s head as she whimpered. “You are in no position to negotiate. I have all of the power.”

  “How do you figure? I have something you want and you have something I want. Where I come from, this is what we refer to as a Mexican standoff.”

  “That is where you are wrong,” he replied cunningly. “I have someone that you cherish and want desperately to protect that I can use against you. You have someone that I despise and want to destroy that you cannot use against me. If you don’t give me my brother, I will kill your girlfriend. If I don’t give you your girlfriend, you’re not going to kill my brother and I know you won’t leave without her, so, as you can see, I have the chip in the game. You do not.”

  Mike knew he was right, but he also knew he couldn’t just throw down his weapon. “Why should I believe that you’re going to let any of us go once I give you your brother?” he asked hesitantly. “What’s to keep you from shooting all of us after you have him?”

  “If I wanted to, I would have already killed her, but I wanted to taste the fruit of your loins.”

  Mike’s stomach churned and his face went hot with pressure. “You son of a bitch,” he growled as he intensified his aim on the Sterling Killer’s head. “Did he hurt you Kate? Are you alright?”

  Kate’s face was puffy and her mascara was smudged. “I’m fine,” she replied with a hoarse voice. “Don’t worry about me. He can’t do anything more to hurt me.”

  The Sterling Killer yanked her head by the back of her matted hair as he pushed the gun against the side of her face causing Kate to yelp. “I know you’re not foolish enough to listen to her Detective,” the Sterling Killer warned him. “You know I will take great pleasure in torturing her right here in front of you if you don’t do as I say.”

  “Please Detective, do what he says,” Father John pleaded. “This has nothing to do with either of you. He only wants to hurt me.”

  “Set your gun on the ground before I lose my patience Detective,” the Sterling Killer admonished him as he again yanked Kate forcefully by her hair.

  Mike couldn’t bear to watch Kate in pain anymore and he didn’t have any other choice but to do as the Sterling Killer demanded. His only chance of getting Kate out of there alive was to do as he was told and hope that Big Pete would come through the back door in time to rescue them. Where the hell was he?

  “Alright,” Mike shouted reluctantly as he spun his pistol in his hand so that it hung upside down from his forefinger. “I’m setting it on the ground.” He bent over and carefully placed it with the handle facing towards him so that in the event he needed to drop to the floor and take a quick shot, it would be in an easy to retrieve position.

  “That’s it Detective,” the Sterling Killer said encouragingly. “Now kick it out of your reach and don’t try anything stupid or your girlfriend will get a bullet in the head just like your father.”

  Mike’s blood surged with anger as he resentfully kicked his gun towards the pews on his right hand side.

  The Sterling Killer pulled the gun away from the side of Kate’s head and pointed it at Mike. “Put your hands up where I can see them.”

  Mike reluctantly held both hands up shoulder high. Where the hell was Big Pete?

  “Now step aside so I can see my brother,” he instructed him with a wave of his pistol and that is when Mike noticed something vaguely familiar about the nickel plated pistol.

  “Where did you get that gun?” he asked like a parent who catches their kids playing with matches.

  “I know everything there is to know about this gun,” he replied like a collector showing one of his prized possessions. “I know that your father bought it in a set of two identical pistols and gave you the other one as a gift before you went to Iraq. I know you have thought about what it must have felt like when your father placed the barrel of the pistol in his mouth. What do you think it felt like when he pulled the trigger and the hollow tip bullet ripped through his brain and shattered out the back of his skull?” He asked tauntingly. “I watched you with morbid curiosity the night you stuck the barrel of the gun in your mouth and almost blew your brains out. There was a part of me that wanted you to commit the same mistake, but there was another part of me that didn’t want you to kill yourself so that you could be here tonight to witness what happens.”

  Mike’s entire body was vibrating with anger as he glared at the Sterling Killer. “I didn’t come here to talk with you about my family or my problems,” he said callously. “I came here to get Kate and give you your brother.”

  “Of course you did Detective,” The Sterling Killer said knowingly. “Send my brother over and we will complete our transaction.”

  “Release the girl first,” Father John demanded. “And then I will willingly let you do as you may with me.”

  The Sterling Killer yanked Kate by the hair again as he held the gun to her head. “Start walking over to your boyfriend real slow,” he told her in a menacing tone. “And don’t do anything that will get him killed.”

&nbs
p; Kate gingerly took a step forward, all the while looking at Father John with terror in her eyes.

  “Start walking toward me Brother,” the Sterling Killer instructed him as he pointed the pistol at Mike.

  Mike looked at Father John with reluctant eyes as he nodded to him. “Be careful,” he warned him under his breath.

  Father John touched Mike’s shoulder reassuringly and then began to slowly walk towards Kate.

  Kate couldn’t help but notice that from a distance, in the shadows of the flickering candles, that Father John looked like the Sterling Killer but as he got closer, she could see that there was something inherently different about him. At first she couldn’t figure out what it was, but as she slowly approached him, she could see the peace and compassion in his eyes and then she felt the force of divine intervention emanating from within him and she knew instantaneously that Father John was the force that saved her from drowning in the pool and now he was going to save her again.

  As they drew closer, Kate’s heart began to burn with fear for Father John. She realized that he was sacrificing his life for hers and that the Sterling Killer was going to kill him unless Father John killed him first. As they were about to pass each other under the ominous glare of the glimmering candles, Kate looked Father John sympathetically in the eyes.

  “Kill him,” she whispered passionately.

  Father John smirked understandingly as he passed her.

  Time seemed to be moving in slow motion as Mike watched helplessly by the flickering glare of the candles not knowing what to do as Kate staggered passed Father John. The suspense was gnawing at his gut. Was the Sterling Killer really going to let Kate and him walk out of there together or was he just toying with them? Did he really want to kill his brother so bad that he didn’t care about anything else?