2
Dovecrest was awakened early the next morning by a guard clanging on the bars of his cell with a nightstick.
“Come on, get up! We’re taking you out of here.”
Dovecrest rubbed his eyes and sat up on the cot.
“Hurry up!” the guard said. “We’ve got to go.”
“Don’t I have time to clean up?”
“No time for that. I have orders to get you out of here now.”
“I’d like to clean up a bit for court.”
“You’re not going to court.”
“Then where the hell am I going?”
“Protective custody. The call just came in. Now move.”
“I think I need to call my attorney,” Dovecrest said, as the guard opened the cell and led him out. He noticed on the office clock that it was only six a.m.
“Look, you can call whoever you want when we’re where we’re supposed to be. But right now we’ve got to get out of here.”
Dovecrest noticed that the guard didn’t even put handcuffs on him, but just led him directly through the building towards the back door.
“Can you give me any idea of what’s going on?”
“I couldn’t tell you if I knew, but that’s irrelevant ‘cause I don’t know. All I do know is that there’s been an incident in the woods and a lot of cops were killed. Whoever did it may be after you next. That’s more than I should have told you but it’s all I know.”
Things had escalated to the next level, then. Just as he had thought. Now everyone was in grave danger.
The guard led him outside, where a car was waiting with two armed officers inside. They opened the door and he climbed into the back.
Dovecrest sensed the commotion before anyone was aware of it. He felt the hairs on his neck tingle, and could sense a flow of energy, as if a lightening bold had struck nearby.
“Hurry up,” he said to the officers.
The driver put the car in gear and rushed backward, then turned around. Dovecrest felt the energy come closer. Then, as the car turned out of the back parking lot, he saw it, in the driveway right in front of them. The driver screeched on the brakes and screamed.
The thing had already transformed. Dovecrest saw it for only a moment before the fireball hit the car, but the vision was engraved upon his brain like an epitaph on a tombstone. It wasn’t that large as monsters go-maybe six feet or so, though he expected it would grow if it wanted to. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in ferocity. The thing still had a human shape, of sorts. But its flesh was molten and dripping, like red-hot lava. It’s eyes were black coals, and the thing literally dripped fire. Its open mouth was a black, yawning pit that seemed to open into hell itself.
Most horrible of all, though, was the human head growing from the side of its molten neck. It was the cult leader-Dovecrest had only seen his face for a moment, but he recognized him just the same. The leader had been absorbed, transformed by the demon. The human face writhed and screamed in unabashed agony. Dovecrest almost felt pity for the leader who had once been human.
Then he saw a fireball fly from the demon and, within an instant, engulf the patrol car. Dovecrest ducked behind the seat as the flames blazed around him. He felt the car turning over. The engine blew, smashing into the front seat. The doors blew off, and Dovecrest felt himself thrown out and across the parking lot.
The demon was seeking him-he knew that-but its fury was out of control. State Troopers were swarming from the barracks like bees defending their nest, but their weapons had no more impact on the thing than if they were bees stinging a campfire. Bullets were either absorbed into the lava or just passed through. The thing was walking fire and brimstone, straight from the depths of hell.
Dovecrest found himself watching the debacle from behind a tree where the explosion had thrown him into the woods next to the driveway. He was sore and had twisted his arm badly, and he had a few minor burns, but he’d been fortunate enough to have been in the back seat, protected by the heavy barrier that separated prisoners from the police. He tried to get up and run away, but his breath had completely left him.
The demon caught one fleeing officer by the neck and pulled him back into its embrace. The man seemed to stand still in time for a single moment, and then erupted into a raging inferno, as if he had been dipped in lighter fluid and held to a hot flame. His screams pierced the early morning stillness of the tiny community. Others took cover inside the barracks, but the monster followed them inside.
The thing literally walked through the door, turning it into flaming kindling wood in a mere second. Dovecrest heard the sound of explosions from inside. A trooper may have tossed a grenade at the monster, but it only added fuel to the fire. A few more small explosions followed; then tongues of fire blew out the windows and licked at the morning air. Several officers, burning like flares, swarmed from the building and dropped to the ground in a desperate attempt to put themselves out.
Dovecrest felt his breath returning to him slowly and he knew the time had come to get away. It was now or never. If the thing found him, his suffering would be especially prized, since he was the one that had imprisoned the monster for so long. Slowly, he backed away from the road and into the woods, keeping his eye on the burning barracks.
With one final Fourth of July explosion, the entire thing seemed to boil and then blow, sending the roof of the building high into the air and collapsing everything inside in hot, red flames and acrid smoke. The thing went up like a fireball. Dovecrest knew nothing human could survive the explosion. Moments, later, the demon emerged, larger than ever, molten and dripping with coal black eyes and a mouth of black pitch. The thing walked easily from the fire and shook itself off, like a dog that had fallen in a lake.
Dovecrest didn’t wait around for the sequel. He fled into the ancient woods that he knew so well.
3
Erik and his family had hastily packed some clothes and supplies and followed Pastor Mark to the church.
“This place may offer some sanctuary,” Mark said. “A demon would be uncomfortable here, in a holy place, I think.”
Erik nodded but he wasn’t sure how much good holiness would do right now. He didn’t think he could stop this thing just by waving a crucifix at it. Perhaps if they could conjure up an army of angels of their own….
The church was fairly large for a small town, and had several classrooms, and a fellowship hall with a kitchen in the basement. The place was very secure and doubled as a shelter in case of an emergency. Erik guessed that this situation qualified.
The pastor’s residence was attached to the back, a small, one bedroom unit with a garage.
“I think we should all stay here for now,” Mark said.
Erik turned on the television in one of the classrooms to catch a glimpse of the morning news. What he saw shocked and horrified him. The news footage was showing what was left of the State Police barracks, which had been incinerated early this morning. The authorities were claiming it was a possible terrorist attack, and had mobilized the National Guard. There was also mention of an attack in the woods during the night where, they claimed, the F.B.I. had first encountered the terrorist group and had been outgunned.
“How else would they explain it?” Mark said. “Nobody’d buy it if they called it what it was.”
“People will believe anything except the truth,” Erik said. “Do you think it was after Dovecrest?”
“Definitely. And by the looks of it, I’d say it got him. We’re on our own, my friend.”
4
What was left of Seti could no longer be called human, yet it had human thoughts and feelings. The pain was so intense that he could barely think, barely remember, and not even hope to fight back. The thing had taken him over completely-no, not completely. That would be merciful. There was just enough of him left to suffer and to regret.
This thing had not turned out the way he had hoped. No life of luxury and pleasure for him now-just eternal suffering and damnation.
For the first time in his life he could understand the meaning of hell. He was probably dead. His body was gone. That much was obvious. All that remained was his head and face and brain perched atop this demon’s neck like a demonic version of a Siamese twin. He felt nothing below the neck and only the agony of burning above it. Yet, by some perverse miracle, his flesh did not burn. It only felt as if it were constantly on fire. He was probably immortal now, he suspected. Be careful what you wish for….
Even his screams of agony were dwarfed by the sounds of the demon’s internal furnace, which never seemed to run out of hellish fuel. He could feel his screams vibrating in his throat, but couldn’t hear them. It was as if he shrieked into a vacuum.
The demon itself no longer paid any attention to him. He could experience its thoughts, such as they were. Mostly the thing emanated raw hatred and raw evil beyond anything that Seti could ever have imagined. He was experienced in the art of evil and violence. But his feeble hatred was nothing compared to the all-consuming evil of this mind, where it was built into the very fabric of its existence. Seti no longer tried to communicate with the beast. His suffering was all that it required of him now.
He had seen the destruction of the SWAT team in the woods, but his suddenly being engulfed in the flames and lava of the monster made the memory very sketchy. He couldn’t really see, but could only experience what occurred around him, all through a very thick layer of pain. He’d seen the Police Barracks go up in flames, and that had almost pleased him, if it were possible to be pleased in this condition. And he’d seen the Indian, the one the demon hated, as he’d escaped into the woods. He hadn’t bothered to tell his tormenter about that. It was his one small victory-and his one miniscule hope.
5
By noontime, the tiny town of Chepachet Rhode Island was on every news station in the country. From what Erik and Mark could tell, the demon had disappeared, at least for the moment. Or, at any rate, the authorities couldn’t find it.
“Maybe it’s gone back to where it came from,” Erik said.
“No. I don’t think so. It’s probably back at its altar stone gaining strength. As if it needs to.”
“Maybe it needs sleep, like we do.”
“Either that or it’s moving on to someplace bigger, where it can do more damage. It’s hard to say. All we can do is pray at this point.”
Erik nodded. But he didn’t think prayer alone would bring an end to this. After all, God helps those who help themselves.
“Dovecrest knew more about this thing than anyone. Do you think we could find anything at his place?”
The pastor shrugged. “It’s worth a try. Do you think the thing will go there?”
Erik thought for a moment. “Not if it already killed Dovecrest. What would it want at his cabin? We could make it over there in just a couple of minutes, check it out, and be back within the hour.”
“What about Vickie and Todd?” the pastor asked.
“I think they’ll be ok here. They’re as safe here as anywhere, I guess. And the church staff is around. They won’t be alone.”
The pastor nodded. “All right, then. Let’s make this quick.”
Todd was in the secretary’s office playing with her computer. Erik told Vickie where he was going and that he’d be right back.
“I’d rather you didn’t leave,” she said.
“I’m not doing any good here. I feel like I’ve got to do something.”
“You men are all alike,” she said. “Just hurry back. We need you here, too.”
He kissed her and then he and Mark got into the pastor’s car and headed down route 102. Dovecrest’s place was only a half a mile away and the roads were deserted. They pulled up at the Indian’s cabin minutes later.
Nothing had been disturbed since the last time he’d been here, Erik noted. It was obvious that Dovecrest hadn’t been back since his arrest, and even the police had left the place alone. It was as quiet, as if nothing had happened.
“All right, where do we start?” Mark said.
“I’d say with the file cabinet and the bookshelf. He mentioned something about old manuscripts.”
“Who’s to say they’re in English?” Mark replied.
“Good point. But we have to try. I’ll start with the files.”
Erik opened the large metal file cabinet while Mark started looking through the book shelves. The files were in completely random order, mostly things about tribal laws and legal documents. None of it made any sense to him. Then he found some things on the history of the tribe, with minutes from previous tribal councils. Maybe there would be a clue in one of these documents. He spilled the file folders out onto the floor and sat down, surrounding himself with the material.
“I’ve got a couple of old books on local history,” Mark said. “Maybe some of this will help.”
“There might be something here, but there’s just so much of it.”
“Maybe we should put it all together in a big trash bag and take it back to the church.”
Someone suddenly stepped out of the shadows and into the room. His approach was as silent as a cat walking on foam.
“You won’t find anything useful in there,” he said.
Erik and Mark both jumped back, startled. It was Dovecrest.
The Indian laughed, and after an embarrassed moment, the two men rushed to embrace him.
“We thought sure you’d been killed,” Erik said.
“I figured the same about you. So we’re even.”
“So,” Pastor Mark said. “What are we dealing with? And how do we stop it?”
“We’re dealing with a real live demon,” Dovecrest said. “Not something from the fairy tale books. Not something out of someone’s imagination. This thing’s real. And it’s going to make life around here very unpleasant.”
“How far will it go?” Erik asked.
“As far as we let it. As far as it can.”
“Then we need to go to the authorities and tell them what it is so they can stop it.”
Dovecrest shook his head. “It wouldn’t do any good, even if they did believe us. Conventional means just won’t work. Guns and explosives are just a joke.”
“The thing ate up the SWAT team for lunch,” Erik said.
“It was the same way at the police barracks. I don’t think even an atomic bomb would hurt this thing. It’s not from our world, remember?”
“So we need to go to its world, right?”
“That’s right,” Dovecrest said. “The portal’s in the altar stone.”
“You’ve done this before?” Mark asked.
“No. The first time we caught the leader before the demon emerged. So we trapped it behind in its own world. This time it’s already made it through.”
“And you know how to do this?”
“The information is hidden in a cave in the woods. I have to do some study and some translation.”
“Why don’t I come with you?” Mark said. “And Erik can go back to the church to be with his family.”
Dovecrest nodded. “Then let’s go.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
1
The monster had returned to the altar and rested after wiping out the police barracks. Not that it had to rest, but it enjoyed relaxation just the same. These rest periods allowed it to gather strength, and to relive and savor the suffering it had inflicted. It also allowed it to slow down and plan the next step. And, of course, going into hiding just made the game more fun, as the mortals tried to explain away the happenings due to natural causes. Although it didn’t really mind if the world knew there was a demon on the loose, the larger purpose told it to remain more secretive. If people actually were to believe in demons, then they might realize the other end of the equation and begin believing in God as well. That wouldn’t be good. So it had to show at least a little discretion, especially in this modern world that already belonged to the dark side.
Already it was anxious to leave its lair, so to speak, and go back out into the worl
d of men. It would begin by destroying any information that might be found that might expose its weakness, or show how it could be captured or destroyed. Although, being immortal, it couldn’t exactly be destroyed, but it might be permanently confined to the other world.
The altar stone was a comfortable resting spot, but the time had come to leave. It stood up, cool now and stone-like. As it swung its legs over the side of the huge stone, the fires began to burn once again, hotter and more fiercely than ever. The lump on its neck that had been Seti opened his eyes and looked at it, pleading to be set free.
“You have the ultimate reward,” it replied to him. “Immortality, my friend. Enjoy!”
Then the fires once again consumed the being that had been human. Seti screamed in agony again, and the demon laughed. The devil’s work was very much fun indeed.
It walked through the woods, leaving a line of burned out destruction in its wake. It reached a deserted Route 102 and followed the road into town. It knew where information was kept, and it would make sure that nothing about its past survived. It saw the library just ahead.
Unfortunately, the library was quiet when the monster burned and smashed its way through the doors and crashed inside like a molten meteor. It had hoped to find some innocents-children were most prized-but was disappointed. The public section was deserted-it seemed that no one wanted the musty old books today. Two men had been sitting behind the desk when it entered. They had backed up and were looking at the demon with bug eyes. The monster probed Seti’s brain for a moment and filed away everything the once-human had ever known about libraries and librarians. None of it was very flattering.
He’d give his once human follower a moment of fun, he thought, and probed Seti’s mind again.
“What shall I do to them? This can be your revenge.”
He’d picked up thoughts from Seti about how the man had been disciplined by a librarian in junior high school, how the man had sodomized him and threatened to kill him if he told. He then probed the minds of these two librarians. They were disgusting creatures, even to him, rolling about in perversion like a pig rolls in mud. They were evil little men with no imagination beyond their day to day existence. But he would give them something to think about. There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy, Hortatio, he quoted into their collective minds.
The Altar Page 17
