the eyes. But standing at the edge of his woods with a blank expression on her face in the middle of the night was horrific.
She had no blood on her, and did not appear as a apparition. He studied her as he contemplated his next move. She was skinny with long brown hair tied back in a blue bow. She had on a pastel polka dot dress, one you would see at church on Easter Sunday. She looked up at him and slightly tilted her head and appeared harmless.
Tucking his head back behind the towels covering the window Gabriel laid back down. Part of him was afraid of this innocent figure at the edge of the woods. The smell of chloroform was sickening in the air. He thought, what do I have to loose. Not like things could possibly get much worse.
Getting out of bed he grabbed a few shotgun shells off his dresser from the box that was still there. With haste he ran down the old steps and grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen. Just before bursting open the door he clicked the light on then went out on his porch. The woman seemed farther in the distance now.
“Hello, you there!” Gabriel shouted. There was no response from the woman and he could no longer read her facial expressions. The night was cool with a light fog that started just inside the thick forest. Gabriel opened the door of his truck and grabbed that untrustworthy shotgun and cracked it open.
The empty shell was still inside. Pulling it out he threw it on the ground and loaded the shotgun with armed rounds. Clicking it shut he headed to the woman with less hesitation than he did before having the gun. The closer he got to her he could once again see her beauty. He was just within reach of her when she turned and started walking away into the dense woods.
“Hey wait where are you going..” Gabriel said. For a moment there was no response.
“Come with me.” The woman said. Reluctantly Gabriel followed her through the woods. They were walking on a old overgrown path that Gabriel never noticed before. He knew the place was old and he never had the need to venture into the woods that came with the home.
Gabriel looked at the woman not far ahead of him who was disappearing in and out of tree's. The dress was perfectly fit on her body displaying her elegant curves from behind. He was drawn to her as any man would be to a young woman.
“Whats your name, and could you slow down?” Gabriel said as he struggled to keep up.
“We're almost there, just come!” They came to an opening in the trees. Gabriel could see there was once a house there. Parts of the crumbling foundation glowed in the night. The woman stopped and bent down opening what appeared to be a cellar or basement door just at the edge of the foundation.
Dirt and debris rolled off of it. The door laid down in the overgrowth and the girl headed in. Gabriel was just catching up and it took him a few moments to reach the cellar. Shining the light down inside he saw the woman. Light green eyes, and plump lips matching the pastel in her dress.
The same smell of chloroform hit Gabriel like a wave. He waited just outside looking in at the woman. There was cobwebs and dust floating around the light shining in on her. She gazed at Gabriel and smiled as her hands reached up to the straps of the dress at her shoulders.
With one motion she pulled them to the sides and it fell down at her feet. The light from Gabriel willingly wondered down to her now naked body. Revealing her small but perky breasts. She had a small not groomed bush that is rarely seen in women these days.
The whole situation was confusing, Gabriel's mind raced. Part of him wanted no part of this twisted midnight hidden cellar romance. The stronger half of his judgment pulled him down into the cellar to be with this figure of beauty. He felt so wrong for watching this young woman. Though it would be a crime against humanity to close the cellar door and walk away.
The steps cracked as he stumbled down. He almost fell down like a clumsy kid drunk on lust. keeping on his feet he took the last step down to the woman. As he placed the shotgun on the ground no questions were needed at this point. Her name, what was happening, where they were, none of it.
After setting down the gun he clinched down on the flashlight and prepared to go in for a kiss. Before his confidence allowed him to kiss her she turned her back to him. Her body curved and swayed in his light. When he was following her through the woods watching the curves in the dress part of his brain had already imagined this moment.
On the floor at her feet was a old torn mattress covered in dirt. Most women would not set foot on such a horrid looking thing. But not this beauty of the night, none of what was in the cellar phased her like it would most women. She laid down on her back on the mattress and spread her legs before him.
His conscience on one side made him feel like uncle creepy. The other side was already pulling at his shirt. Shining his light on her to be sure this was really happening. She looked at him and smiled, as if it say it is. Before Gabriel could processes it she flashed before his eyes. One moment he saw her, then an absolutely horrific seen.
The once body of perfection was now stabbed and mangled before him. Her eyes open, cold and dead. Blood on her face and gruesome gashes throughout her flesh. His heart jolted and he almost fell to the floor. Not in lust but horror and disgust. Turning away he ran up the steps, leaving the gun behind in the cellar.
Gasping for air he ran down the path back to his house. Once he wished it was haunted and now he wished it wasn't even there. The house came into view, its image was now tainted. Looking away he focused on his truck. Jumping in it he cranked it over and kicked it in reverse before he even turned on the lights.
Squealing his tires onto the highway the image of the mangled girl was still in his head. What a monstrosity, sadness swept over him as he drove to Axal. One car passed and he was relieved to not see its inhabitants. Sadness turned to anger and confusion. What happened to that woman he wondered. Why did she lead him on to such a sickening scene. Was his new found powers letting him see the naked dead. Were they trying to get into his pants or nightmares?
Lights of Axal were welcoming to him like never before. Only Axal could save him now, and Apollyon was a distant memory. The streets and town were desolate as always this time of the night. Gabriel headed to the towns church to seek meaning in what was happening to him.
The church was an old once rebuilt version of itself. The first church there burned down just a few short years after it was built. The only remains was the original bell that stood in the tower. Kids would tell scarey story's about the burning of the church but even the old men of Morlov's did not exist when it burnt and no one knew the real story behind it.
As a kid he remembered driving past it on his way to school. He always looked up at the old black bell at the top. He never set foot inside the church though. The parking lot was empty and Gabriel went to a spot in the back. Turning off the truck, he collapsed into it's bench seat and struggled with the woman's image until he fell asleep.
Apollyon's Saint The Beginning Page 8
