by Joe Fowler
It dawned on me that I could use my visions now. I thought of Keith and got a vision of him with the members of the attack pack driving down the road, unfortunately it looked like they were going the wrong way. They were talking animatedly. Keith sensed me, like he had the first time I had tried this on him at Seth’s house. He knew I was watching and listening to them.
“Josh, where are you?” I tried to think to him but nothing happened. Then I thought of trying to put my visions in his head. He seemed to see something but he said he couldn’t make anything out. “Try something else, that wasn’t clear in my mind.”
“Here you go, Josh.” Mom sat a tray down with my burgers and coke. She broke my concentration.
“Thanks, Mom. Looks good.” I even managed to smile at her for effect.
“Enjoy it. If you need anything else just tell the guards.” She turned and went back down the stairs.
I decided to go ahead and eat something. It would help me feel better anyway. I kept trying to think of ways to tell Keith where I was, but I was drawing a blank. The food was really good. At least I was getting a tasty last meal. It took thirty minutes but I finished both burgers and all the fries. Time to try something else.
I decided to look in on the girls to make sure they really were ok. The vision I got was of Sarah and Crystal sitting in Sarah’s car in the Walmart parking lot on Schillinger Road. On instinct, I tried to link my mind with Keith’s again, while keeping the vision of the girls clear in my head. I felt the connection happen, but wasn’t sure how clear it would be to Keith. I kept it up as long as I could. How much easier would it have been if Keith had a cell phone, or I had shown Sarah and Crystal where Seth lived.
According to the grandfather clock, I had five minutes left. I sat gathering my courage. My final peaceful thoughts should be of Alicia. I knew that. Her beautiful smile filled my mind. I heard her laughter and felt the softness of her lips on mine. I said her name in my head like I would when we were in wolf form.
“Josh!” Holy shit! She heard me! “Where are you? What’s going on?”
“Listen Alicia, call Seth tell him to go five or so miles past the address my mom gave us. Look for a fucking dolphin mailbox and go another half mile on the right hand side of the road. It’s a huge house with a circular driveway. There are a lot of cars parked in a clearing on the left hand side of the house. Tell him the girls are safe. They are at the Walmart parking lot on Schillinger Road. Tell him as soon as you can. I love you!” I was thinking all of that to Alicia but could still see my mom approaching me.
“It’s time. Have you made your decision?” Mom was a little concerned. Not that it really mattered anymore.
“He will have to beat me. I will not give up easily.” I said it quietly. I knew this was about to get painful for me.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Maybe she was.
This was the longest forty foot walk I ever took. My life’s journey down to a matter of feet. I thought of Alicia and Keith. They were the two people I would miss the most. I hoped Sarah and Crystal would last, they seemed so perfect together. My mom, was a poor distant fifth. She had withheld her emotions from me, leaving me to wish for the doting overbearing mother that the other kids my age resented. If those kids only knew, or maybe it is better to say ‘if they knew half of what they thought they knew’. When we reached the door to my father, I had mixed feelings. I was sad but I was ready to get this over with. For some reason, I decided not to turn immediately. I wanted to save that for a surprise.
He was sitting behind the desk waiting for us. His evil hit me once again. It made my stomach turn in a weird way. You could feel that something was really wrong when you were in his presence. I hoped I could find a way to rid this world of him. He would be a festering pimple on the ass of the world if he was allowed to remain here.
“I hope you used your time wisely.” My father was his usual demanding self.
“I ate good food, and had a chance to think quietly. I rather enjoyed it.” I was trying to be trying. Maybe I could piss him off just for the hell of it. “What about you dickhead? Did you come to your senses, or am I going to have to kick your ass back to hell?”
He really didn’t like that. He came over the desk in one smooth motion hands outstretched for my throat. I sidestepped and punched him in the face, sending him tumbling. He was back on his feet in less than a second. This time he came at me slowly. He threw a flurry of punches that I was able to dodge, but he blocked or dodged my counters as well. I began to think I had a chance, until he connected with my jaw sending me flying into one of the bookshelves. Cartoon birdies aren’t fun when you see them in person.
“You will speak to me with respect or I will make this as painful as possible. Do you understand?” He was pissed. Score one for me, I think.
“Whatever you say, dipshit.” While saying this I stood quickly grabbing one of the large books and throwing it at his head. He dodged the book but not my fist. It didn’t send him flying but I could tell it hurt.
“I’m almost glad you are fighting back. I haven’t had a chance to dish out pain with my own two hands for quite some time.” He walked right up to me, obviously not worried in the least. I had to find a way to discourage that.
“No wonder you seem to be so soft. You been slacking off for a long time now, huh?” I smiled when I said it. This time I landed in the pile of books without having seen the punch that hit me.
“Boy, you really don’t get it do you? What have you been teaching him all these years?” He looked over at my mom when he said that. She was standing a corner trying not to get pummeled. “I am going to have what I came here for. You aren’t demon enough to stop me.”
I figured I better turn while I still could. I took my shirt off. Kicked my shoes off and was starting on my pants when Mom went ballistic.
“What the hell are you doing? Why would you take your clothes off?” She was becoming hysterical.
“I have a pretty good reason, Mom.” Having said that, I concentrated and pulled my wolf form.
My wolf was almost singing with happiness. He had been fighting for me when severely overmatched. Now he was free to really let loose. My mom lost it. She started screaming and wasn’t showing any sign of stopping. Adramelech looked at the huge monster in front of him and smiled.
“Maybe you are more demon than I thought. At least this will make for a better fight.” He stepped forward as he spoke.
He approached slowly, looking at his new opponent. He tried a couple of those fast punches but I could match his speed now. I had the extreme satisfaction of sending him flying across the room when I landed a good one. I was then disappointed when I heard his laughter. He stood up and wiped a trace of blood from his lip, still laughing.
“Nice! I am really excited about how powerful I am going to be when I take over that beast of yours.” The cocky bastard was still so sure of himself. I had to admit he may have reason to be.
The fight continued. We both took shots that would have killed a normal man. We shook them off easily enough and kept fighting. For all the strength I had in this form, he was still stronger. We were an even match in speed. The skill set was different but mostly equal. We went back and forth for an eternity, well, about ten minutes anyway. He landed a good one sending me across the room again.
“Give up boy. You’ve done well but we both can see how this will end.” He said it with pride. Like he was proud of me for putting up such a fight.
“Sorry, Pop. I’m not giving up.” I hated the sound of the big, spooky, red eyed, hulking, black bigfoot’s voice.
“It speaks. Now that’s a spooky voice.” He laughed briefly.
He rushed me before I was ready but I got lucky and avoided the worst of the punishment. He wasn’t letting up on his attacks. He was coming faster, harder, and more ferociously with each assault. He finished his latest attack by body slamming me through the desk. I was having trouble getting up from that one. He didn’t wait to give me a chance. He st
arted kicking me in my stomach and head. I was barely aware when he stopped.
As I lay there, my mind drifted to Alicia. I almost called to her, but she would only see that I was losing badly. Let her have hope, if nothing else. Then I thought of Keith. I wasn’t sure I had the strength but I used my visions to see him. He was still with the pack members and they were driving.
“Josh!” Keith shouted when he sensed me. That was all I had the strength for. I blacked out.
I don’t know how long I was unconscious. I heard voices before I opened my eyes. There was a lot of shouting and things breaking. I couldn’t make sense of it yet. I had the feeling I was smaller somehow, which was really confusing for a few moments. Then I realized I had turned back human. I slowly began to understand what the shouting was about. My father had tried to possess me and couldn’t.
“What do you mean he already has a spirit in him? Are you saying my son was already possessed?” Mom sounded strange.
“It isn’t a demon possession, I would know. Besides, no demon would dare cross me. Wake him up. Maybe Josh knows the answer.” My father was furious.
“Josh, wake up.” I felt Mom’s hands holding my head and stroking my face as she called for me to wake up. My brain still didn’t want to fully function, but my eyes flickered for a moment. I still couldn’t hold them open but I got glimpses of what was around me. “He’s waking. Give him a minute and he will come to.”
“This is not a good sign. If we have to purge the spirit within him, it could take days. I don’t have that kind of time. It would be six months before you could summon me again.” The demon was pacing while he spoke. I realized I could hear several more heartbeats in the room.
Mom had my head in her lap and was stroking my head. She might as well have been hitting me with a shovel for the pain she was causing.
“Is there any other way?” This was said by someone I didn’t know. I couldn’t turn yet to see the others in the room.
“I can still enter if he gives permission. He seems to be stubborn about it though, I don’t see him granting permission. The only other way is to drive this spirit out, then I can beat him down again and enter.” My father was still pacing while he spoke. Finally my eyes began to work again. I opened them to see my mom’s face looming above me.
“He’s awake. Josh, you need to talk to us. Why is there a spirit in you?” Mom seemed worried but I wasn’t sure what or who she was worried about.
“I thought it would be obvious.” I could only manage a whisper. “I am a werewolf.” That caused an uproar.
“Silence!” My father cut off the idiot noise from the other cult members. “Leave us, I have to think. You stay there with him.” This last was directed at Mom.
“When did this happen?” Mom asked.
“Same day my visions started. You remember the day Keith and I skipped about two weeks ago?” I looked at her while I was asking.
“Yes. I was in the study that morning.” She remembered.
“That’s it. We bumped into a guy who happened to be a werewolf. He said I didn’t smell human anymore. He didn’t know what I was, so I ended up getting bit.” I could feel myself getting stronger, but continued to act as weak as I could.
“When could you have turned? You’ve been home every night haven’t you?” She was trying to remember.
“The night I was supposed to be at Keith’s house. That was the night of the full moon.” I was reminded of Alicia again. I was trying not to think of her. It was too painful. “That was my first time turning.”
“I wish you would have told me these things. I would have supported you. I wouldn’t have been mad.” She was confusing again. She wanted to know every part of my life and be supportive, while planning my death on the side.
“I had just seen the visions of your group summoning him. I was confused and wasn’t sure I should say anything.” I decided to ask for the truth for once. “Mom, please tell me why you started summoning demons. I never would have thought you to be evil.”
She looked at me for a long time without saying a word. The demon had righted one of the chairs and was deep in thought. It felt like all the bad wounds had healed inside of me. I would be ready for round two soon. I looked back at Mom and could tell she was deciding what to tell me.
“I still don’t consider myself to be evil. My dad died when I was young. When my mom remarried, I knew I was in trouble. He molested me for years and my mom knew, but she didn’t care. When I was thirteen, my stepdad decided to make money off of me. I was very pretty so he would offer me out to his friends or anyone with enough money to pay. I met a man one day who changed my life. He had heard through his friends what was happening to me. He paid the money to my stepfather but didn’t use me the way all the others had. He just talked. Two days later my mom and stepdad died in a car crash. The man I had met pulled some strings and got custody of me. I was fifteen then. I was treated properly from then on. He explained that he was a part of a group that did not worship God. They had found influence and wealth by doing the bidding of a certain demon. If these people were good enough to have helped me the way they did, how could I say they were wrong? I joined with them and the opportunity to have you was too good to pass up. Does that explain it for you?” She looked at me with her heart open for the first time ever.
“Yes.” I had tears in my eyes. I had never imagined that my mother had suffered through that kind of torment. While I still strongly disagreed with the plan to kill me, I may have found more respect for my mom than I had ever had before. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Mom,”
“I made it. What’s that saying? What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” She smiled at me and I smiled back.
“I need to rest for a minute.” I said this as pitifully as I could. I did not want them to know I had mostly recovered.
I closed my eyes and settled my vision on Sarah and Crystal. They were still at the Walmart parking lot but they were not alone. Seth was yelling orders and everyone was jumping either back into the van or into Sarah’s car. I didn’t see Keith or the Tahoe carrying the rest of the pack that were a part of this. I came back to myself, then immediately sent my vision out to Keith. He was riding and talking on the phone very excitedly. He was getting directions to the house I was lying in. I had hope, but they looked to be at least twenty minutes away, with armed guards to go through when they arrived.
“Josh, we are coming. We just found out where you are. Sarah and Crystal will be taken to Seth’s house for safekeeping. You did really well with those visions and talking to Alicia. Now just hold on and we will be there as soon as we can.” He had sensed me and said that to let me know the situation wasn’t hopeless.
I disconnected the vision but kept thinking of Keith. If I survive this, I am going to want some answers from you, my friend. Your touch didn’t cause me to have visions, for one thing. Being stronger than older werewolves would be enough to warrant suspicion. Always knowing everything was more subtle, but still curious. The way he did things that solved problems we would have had later, well that was just showing off. Arranging for me to get bit by a werewolf just before I had to fight a demon was already impressive. When I factored in the new development that because of Keith I can’t be forcibly possessed by the demon, was just ridiculous.
I finally let my mind drift to its favorite place, Alicia. We might get that long happy life after all. She had become my world in only one week’s time. I remember thinking of how beautiful she was when the cookout started and she sat beside me. I would never have guessed I could be so lucky. Her playful personality coupled with her fierceness was breathtaking to me. I wasn’t sure she was still in wolf form but it was worth the try.
“Alicia?” I sent out.
“Josh! Talk to me. What is going on?” Alicia sounded worried. How could I blame her? This must have been horrible for her.
“He beat me pretty bad but I am recuperating quickly. He can’t possess me without my permission since I am
a werewolf. I know Keith and Seth are on their way. I sent my vision thing out to look. How are you holding up?”
“I can’t believe you are asking about me right now. You just get through this.” Alicia’s voice gave me strength. I heard my father rise from his chair and knew I didn’t have any more time to talk.
“I have to go, Alicia. I will talk again when I can.” If she had a response I didn’t hear it. I have to concentrate to hear when I am in human form.
I opened my eyes as my father neared me. I was still lying among the rubble of what used to be a desk, with my head still resting in my mom’s lap. He looked resolved. I was pretty sure that whatever he was resolved about, wasn’t going to be good for me. Sometimes I hate to be right.
“Well, it seems I can’t force my way in. You will have to give me permission to enter. So far you have fought me bravely.” He took a deep breath and motioned for Mom to move away from me. “Now I will have to torture you. It appears to be the only recourse left to me.” As he lifted his foot for a kick I had a plan.
“Wait. Tell me more of my choice first. How bad will hell be?” I thought if I could get him to talk, it would give the cavalry time to rescue my dumbass. He hesitated and looked at the clock.
“Maybe this can save time.” He pulled his chair over and sat down. “It won’t be bad for you in any way. You will have everything you want. You have the wrong viewpoint. Maybe it would be best to tell you how hell works, then you will understand better. What do you know of hell?”
“All I have ever heard is that hell is where you go to be punished for sins. You know, the lake of fire and demons with pitchforks kind of thing. That’s about all I know.” I was being honest.
“For human souls, that description would do. You are a half demon. Son of one of hell’s most powerful. Once I have free reign here on earth, my influence will spread in hell as well. The more powerful you are the more you have there. It’s a matter of who can take what they want. As you are, you would do well by yourself without my name to carry you. You surprised me with the power you showed in our fight.” He laughed briefly. “It would be funny to watch you teach those idiots some respect. They generally don’t give high regard to newer demons. You are already a match for most of them.”
