The windows, once pristine and splendid in appearance were now gaping holes for the wind to rush in and out freely. Some of the doors hung desperately onto the rusted hinges. It was a rotting, web infested relic now, subservient only to the elements. Vines and other plant life ensnared and entwined itself amongst the old tombstones of the graveyard. The scenery encompassing the torn down building looked like something out of a classic horror movie. This didn’t put Andrew any more at ease but he was thankful he was making this trip in the day time. He came to a halt and reached for his phone, but was surprised to see it ringing. The number was unknown. Hesitantly he answered, “h-hello?”
“Glad to see you made it here in one piece,” Andrew looked around erratically trying to pinpoint Mr. Steven’s location. “Meet me at the church entrance.” The phone went dead. Gathering himself for the unknown that was to come, he took one last breathe, exited his car and walked with purpose towards the front door.
He stood for a few seconds, waiting nervously. Then the door slowly creaked open. The struggling sound it made clearly indicated the dilapidated condition the church was in. Dust and loose debris shuffled free from atop the doorframe. Mr. Steven’s silhouette broke away from the collective shadow of the main hall. “We have a lot to discuss.” He gestured Andrew inside.
As they walked and talked Andrew’s vision was greeted by the once great pulpit, now a shadow of its former self, unpolished, a decrepit relic of ages gone by. The walls had eroded away, washing the colours from the once beautiful building. The great hanging chandeliers and rows of benches lay stagnant and dusty.
“So, Andrew you’re probably racking your brain as to why I’ve called you here and how I have procured pictures of you. I can imagine you’re a little worried of my sudden interest in you.”
“Well, yeah kinda,” replied Andrew.
Coach methodically walked over to the antiqued, run down organ and stood in front of it. His posture was straight, his hands were behind his back and legs shoulder width apart.
“Does anyone else know you are here?” he asked with an enforced manner.
“N-no sir. Just me.” Andrew’s voice shook nervously.
Coach lowered his head and sniggered. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a tape recorder. Pressing play, they both listened to the conversation Andrew had earlier with Jaime, Josh and Adam in his house.
Andrews mouth dropped in surprise, “What the…how the hell did you get that?”
Coach smiled, “Andrew you are in no position to ask questions if you’re not willing to be truthful with your answers.” Knowing he had been caught in a lie, Andrew confessed. “Ok fine, yeah my friends know I’m here ok. Well not exactly here just that I’ve come to meet you, ok.”
Coach nodded with appreciation, “See that wasn’t so hard was it. As long as you stay straight with me, I will stay straight with you. Deal?” He held his hand out to shake on it. Andrew agreed and they shook on it. Then turning around Mr. Stevens pressed a series of keys on the rickety organ. The brief melody triggered a secret trap door underneath the pulpit, much to Andrew’s astonishment.
“Follow me,” said Coach Stevens. At first tentative Andrew grasped it was too late to turn back now and delved down into the trap door.
The hidden compartment itself opened inwards. A staircase then appeared to walk deeper down underneath the church. The immediate darkness was broken by a small handheld torch Mr. Stevens was carrying. Walking forward to what seemed like a dead end he stopped. Carefully approaching the formidable slab of wall he pressed against a small section about the size of his hand that was brilliantly masked from the naked eye. Once the pressured section came loose from the wall, he slid it across to reveal a small hand printed panel. Placing his palm on it, the panel began to scan his hand. This was then followed by another section of the wall opening up. It was about
6 feet in height but much smaller in size. He approached the hole in the wall face first. Andrew realised it was some form of eye identifier. A monotone computerized voice clarified his arrival. “Welcome, Mr. Stevens.”
As soon as his identification was clarified the sound of electricity surging followed. Lamps flickered on and the sudden impact of light gave way to a realization of what was hidden in the darkness. Andrew couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He laughed and glared at the same time, impressed but taken aback by what was before him.
“Whaaaaar?” he gasped. “Wow, just wow. This was the last thing I expected to see today.” Much to Andrew’s suprise underneath the rotting construction was a state-of-the-art base of operations.
Coach could see Andrew was shocked but excited.
“Welcome to my ‘other’ office.” He smirked proudly.
He gave Andrew a quick tour of the tactically purpose built lair.
The dimensions were identical in shape and size to the floor plan of the holy sanctuary it was hidden underneath. Spacious and accommodating it boasted a number of supercomputers, a global surveillance system, A laboratory, small mechanized workshops, sleeping quarters, a gym and combat area, vast library, storage space, a small kitchen and medical facilities.
On top of that, it was safely secured by a sophisticated security system to prevent all measure of infiltration. The security measures included motion sensors, interrogation room and cells, silent alarms, steel and lead mechanical doors which could lock a person in or out, constant round the clock CCTV and incapacitating gas as a last resort.
If that wasn’t enough, there was also a fully equipped armoury filled with defensive and offensive weaponry and equipment, stealth apparatus and other technical gadgets and gizmos.
All powered by a hydroelectric generator made possible by the Fairview River.
Mr. Stevens had his own quarters at the very end of the huge hall. Trying to take in all he could Andrew couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by his surroundings. He walked and rotated repeatedly trying to view everything he could. “This place is unreal,” he shouted.
They reached Coach’s private room and after giving protocol security checks, they entered and sat down face to face. Coach sat attentively, both hands interlocked on the desk in front of him.
“So,” he began, “let’s start by going over the simple questions shall we.” Andrew nodded in agreement.
“How did I get those pictures of you?” He paused. “Hmmm where do I begin,” he said to himself. “I’ve been tracking you since were 7 years old Andrew. I’ve watched you grow up from a tiny baby to the age you are now. In that time I’ve kept constant surveillance over you and your mother. With that being said, the next question of how did I get the tape recording of your conversation today should answer itself.” He spoke concisely, calmly and straight to the point but Andrew still couldn’t grasp what he was hearing. He slouched back in his chair flabbergasted. He rubbed his head.
“So, so what you’re saying is you have my house bugged or something?”
Stevens nodded, “That’s affirmative.
Your house has been under my constant watch ever since you moved in. Telephones, mobiles, IPads, etc. Hidden CCTV has been installed.
Not only that but yourself and your mother are also bugged.” Andrew immediately jumped out of his chair. “WHAT?!” he shouted as he felt himself, “What do you mean bugged? What the hell man, that’s a total violation of my personal space.” The anger was perceivable in his voice but Stevens remained composed in his nature.
“Sit down Andrew and let me finish,” he eloquently commanded. Andrew grew frustrated but knew if he was going to gather more answers he needed to calm down. He slumped back into his chair. Coach carried on.
“It’s imperative you remain calm Mr. Robertson; as you don’t want a round two with me do you?” Andrew, now slightly sulking carried on listening.
“I had to make sure I could keep tabs on you and your mother at all times. I did what I had to.”
“And that was?” interrupted Andrew.
“You have both been fitted with a tiny m
icroscopic chip. It enables me to track your whereabouts wherever you go, anywhere in the world. It’s currently injected underneath the surface of your right hand.”
Andrew inspected his right hand for signs of scarring but only did so in vain.
“There’s no point looking for it, you’ll never find it with the naked eye.”
Andrew gave him a look of displeasure, “So how did you get the pictures then?”
Stevens sighed in impatience, “Did you not hear what I just said, Andrew. I’ve been tracking you. Think back to the park.”
He discontinued giving Andrew time to think, “Remember? I was there, walking my dog?”
A look of realization came across Andrews face.
“Now answer me this. Later that day you saw me in the Chinese restaurant. Do you think that was coincidence?”
Again Andrew thought over Coach Stevens’ words and everything seemed to fall into place.
“The night we won the championships I knew about the party. I was there the entire time in disguise.” His tone then increased in seriousness. “Andrew what you did that night was extremely impressive albeit very, very careless. Anyone could have seen it. You cannot comprehend the sheer magnitude of what you’re dealing with here. You need to be more careful about how you exhibit these newfound changes that are happening to you.” Andrew could sense the importance of Mr. Stevens warning. “Ok Coach. It-it won’t happen again.”
Stevens sat back in his chair. “Now, I’m sure you have some questions you would like to ask me. Feel free to fire away.”
Andrew pulled his chair forward intently. Slowly he rubbed his brow, “Well where do I start,” he laughed. After a few seconds, he asked his first question. “Who are you, really? Because clearly you’re more than just a coach.”
Mr. Stevens laughed. “The rumour’s you’ve probably heard circulating around the college about me is true. Before I came to be a coach I was ex-military. I have had tours all over the world and been a part of some of the most elite armed forces to set foot on this earth.” He immediately fell silent and lowered his gaze as he pulled out his dog tags. His tone became sombre. “Then something happened. It changed my life forever and I ended up here.”
Andrew felt like he was hiding something. He wanted to know more. His curiosity needed to uncover answers. So he pressed on with his questioning.
“So what happened then? What brought you here? What brought you to me?”
Coach Stevens got up and walked over to a glass cabinet. Opening it he pulled out a flask of whiskey. Taking a deep swig he turned and offered some to Andrew, who declined. He walked back and sat down, placing the flask on the table. Taking a deep breath he commenced with an answer but was unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of the alarm.
“Something has tripped the motion sensor,” he said, jumping out of his seat to check the cameras. Andrew followed, intrigued to know what was going on. Stevens checked the display and his normally poised attitude had now switched. He moved with urgency. Motivated. He quickly ran over to a computer and tapped away frantically. A voice rang out over the speaker system, “Security Protocol Activated.” Upon hearing the confirmation, Coach made his way over to the armoury. He grabbed an array of weapons and equipment including a shotgun, two semi-automatic handguns and a Katana.
Andrew puzzled at the sudden change in behaviour of Mr. Stevens looked back at the camera relay. The figure he saw on it sent a tingle down his spine. “I’ve, I’ve seen this person before,” he stammered. Coach paused. “Where? When”
“Umm, I remember seeing him yesterday. Yeah, whilst I was getting ready to go out he just appeared. He was just standing outside my house. It was kinda weird. I went to confront him but when I opened the door, he was gone. It looks like the same guy anyway.” Coach threw a headset at Andrew.
“Put this on,” he commanded. “If you say this guy is the same guy you saw yesterday then we have a problem.” Andrew grew slightly nervous. “A problem? What kind of problem?”
Coach put on an identical headset. “I don’t have much time to explain. Stay here where it’s safe and watch the monitors. The headset will keep us in contact. I’ll need your help.” Andrew looks puzzled. “Help with what?”
Stevens walked over to a cabinet in his office and unlocked it. He pulled out a small box and placed it on the desk. The box, once opened, revealed 6 small rings, all alike in size and shape. Andrew figured that coach would place the each ring on a finger but was astonished at what happened next.
As Stevens looked over the rings, he closed his eyes and recited the words;
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
He started off by grabbing two rings;
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth
And having on the breastplate of righteousness.”
As he spoke these words, the rings magically grew in size and he fitted them to his chest and waist.
Next he took another two;
“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.”
He placed these around his ankles and grabbed another one;
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Fitting the expanded ring to his left wrist he took the last two rings;
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
And placed one atop his head and the other on his right wrist.
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
Andrew looked on in amazement as the rings seemed to conform and blend into his clothing. Coach then grabbed the weaponry and gave him a final warning before he left. “Whatever you do, do not leave this room. Stay watching the monitors and keep your ears open for my commands, do you understand?” His eyes looked focused and battle ready. Andrew had never seen his coach like this before. “Yes, yes sir.”
Stevens left the base, locking the doors behind him and casually made his way back above ground through an alternate route. He checked the intercom with Andrew.
“A.R do you read me? Over.”
“Loud and clear sir. Umm, over.” Replied Andrew nervously.
He watched the cameras as the black figure sat down in front of the organ, eerily still. Suddenly the dooming sound of keys rang out through the old building. Coach Stevens re-emerged at the side of church, from an exit built into a large standing mausoleum. He vigilantly made his way to the church entrance. Hearing the noise of music, he communicated with Andrew.
“A.R what’s going on in there? Over.”
“Nothing at the moment sir he just seems to be playing the organ. Over.”
Stevens slowly walked through the front door.
Turning its skull sideways and looking back at him the creature revealed its haggard dark black eyes and hideous pointy nose. Pulling the hood down from atop his head, he unveiled the short brown curls that adorned his crown. It's dry, shrivelled lips gave way to a sinister grin.
“Nice of you to join me, Sean.” The creature’s voice was croaky and jagged in tone.
“Demon, state your name and why you are here,” ordered Mr. Stevens.
Andrew listened over the headset and the word instantly registered with him. “Demon?!” he repeated fearfully.
“I know he is here Sean. Just turn him over and I will leave you in peace.” The behaviour of the dark figure appeared to be nonchalant, not concerned with the requests of Coach Stevens but more on finding Andrew. It carried on playing on the organ.
“Demon, you will hear me and you will answer me. What is your name and why are y
ou here?!” Sean raised his voice in dominance.
The music came to a halt and the shadowy silhouette stood up and let out a blood-curdling shriek. The building began to shake uncontrollably.
“Your scare tactics will not deter me devil,” proclaimed Sean.
The demon rotated its head backwards to face Mr. Stevens. “We shall see human.”
As the entire structure tremored profusely every dark shadow present in the room began to morph and take shape. At the whim of their master, the dark blobs took on the forms of hideous beasts. Hunched in stature, they resembled werewolves, with pointy canine ears, blood red eyes, the snout of a dog and jagged teeth snarling. Their arms dragged beside them like a gorilla, pointy fingernails clawing at the ground beneath them. Some had tails that whipped furiously while others had sharp barbs protruding from their backs.
Sean scanned the room. He counted 6 of them. “AR, you there?”
There was a brief silence for a couple of seconds. Andrew couldn’t believe what he was seeing. In the space of a few hours, his life appeared to be unravelling at the seams. He gathered himself, “Yeah coach, I’m here.”
“Good,” replied Coach. “I need you to stay focused Andrew. It’s a lot to take in right now I know but you need to remain alert. OK? Do you copy? Over.” Andrew closed his eyes and decided he was in too deep to just run away in fear now. It was time to man up. He pulled up a chair and got comfortable, adjusted his headset and replied, “Yes sir.”
“Ok, how many do you count A.R?” coach asked
Andrew scanned the monitor. “6 of them sir. 7 if you count the one in charge. They have you surrounded coach.” Sean drew for both handguns as the beasts encircled him.
“Destroy him my pets. Then we can move on and find what we really came here for,” said the demon. It sat back down in front of the organ and began to play again. Preparing for a fight, Sean took up stance and unclipped the safety on both guns. He waited calmly, his eyes switching constantly from left to right, anticipating their first strike. All background noise seemed to fade out, as the sound of his heartbeat rose above everything. He steadied his feet.
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